MUSKEGON – Muskegon Lumberjacks defenseman Jacob Napier had a special distinction on the team, at least before last weekend.

He was the only player on the Jacks’ roster to compete in every game this season and not score a goal.

That was not a big deal to the Lumberjacks, who count on Napier for his shut-down defense. It was really no big deal to Napier, either, because he understands his value comes from preventing goals, not scoring them.

But he was still pretty happy to finally put the puck in the net.

It happened last Saturday night in a 4-3 home victory over the Madison Capitols that snapped the Jacks’ uncharacteristic three-game winless streak.

He scored at 7:58 of the first period, with assists from Nick Peluso and Jake Braccini, giving the Jacks a 2-0 lead.

“I was just kind of following up the play, in the second wave,” said Napier, 18, a first-year Lumberjack. “Braccini shot from the left side, the puck hit one of their defensemen and popped out to me, and I just cranked a shot right away.”

Napier said the shot felt like a goal the moment it left his stick, and he turned out to be right.

“I was just waiting for the (goal judge’s) lights to go on,” he said.

Napier called his parents in New York state after the game to tell them about the goal. As it turns out they were watching a live stream of the game, and Napier’s sister sent him a video of his dad’s excited reaction to his goal.

“They were just excited for me,” Napier said with a chuckle. “Scoring goals is fun. You don’t like seeing that zero there.”

That first goal will probably one of just a few that Napier will score this season. Lumberjacks Coach Mike Hamilton puts a great deal of emphasis on defense, and he likes the way Napier focuses on his primary role.

“He’s a defensive defenseman,” Hamilton said. “His game is keeping the game in front of him. He’s always on the first unit, and he’s the first guy on the penalty kill. He takes pride in being solid defensively, and he skates really well.

“You have to take pride in your defense and doing the things that 90 percent of the people in the stands don’t recognize and be happy and OK with that. Night in and night out, he’s selfless and puts the team first.”

Despite all of that, Hamilton understood how exciting it was for Napier to score a goal, and he was happy for him.

“Obviously on a team that’s offensively driven, it was frustrating for him waiting to get that first goal,” the coach said. “I think it was a little bit of a relief for him, but it was nothing we were worried about.”

Some fans might look at Napier’s stats and assume he was little offensive ability, but that’s not the case at all.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder was a pretty offensive defenseman in prior seasons, playing in youth development leagues.

Last season, for example, he had 20 goals and 29 assists in 42 games while playing for Northstar Christian Academy in Minnesota.

This season is different, however, because the Lumberjacks have plenty of forwards who score a lot, and don’t need their defensemen to add a lot to the attack.

Napier said the coaches made it clear that stopping opponents is his assignment this season, and he happily embraced it.

So he has one goal and eight assists through 40 games, and knows he’s right where he’s supposed to be.

“It’s something you think about, but it’s not everything to me,” Napier said about producing points. “I don’t have to have that kind of vindication to know that I’m playing the right way. The last few years I was a little more offensive, but this year it’s a little more of an old style of play, which suits my game and my skill set. I’m a bigger defenseman and I can take care of things in our own zone.”

As someone who has played in all 40 games for the Jacks so far, Napier has experienced the ugly times, when the Jacks spent the first few weeks of the season in last place, and the much better times, starting in mid-November, when they started getting hot. The Jacks enter this weekend’s games in Youngstown tied for first place with Chicago in the USHL’s Eastern Conference standings, and the sky seems like the limit for the team.

“It’s been a lot of fun just seeing that change,” Napier said about the team. “I’m not sure (what changed). I’m not sure you can put it on one thing. Maybe it’s just that the atmosphere is so good on our team.”